Zooarchaeology

Zooarchaeology

Question 1

Zooarchaelogists can employ various lines of evidence to distinguish between different forms of accumulation. An archaeologist can use fills to determine the type of accumulation.  Fills are the types of materials that are deposited in different sealing layers. It is one of the possible measures of the time difference in the formation of accumulations. The overlying sequence infills are indications of the type of accumulation, and this helps in understanding the kind of material under study. Another thing that acts as a line of evidence that enables Zooarchaeologists to distinguish lines of accumulation is the tip line, which is generally the characteristics of fills. The nature of the tip defined whether an accumulation is a human, mammalian carnivores, or raptors. The characters can also indicate whether accumulation is of a natural process.

Further, by studying the hyaenids carnivore class, one can determine which the accumulation type. It is one of the accumulating lines that should be used to distinguish the accumulating agents. It involves the study and inferring the social behaviors of the hyaenids class through bone-cracking. The method is based on digital paleoneuorological techniques. Quantifying faunal assemblage helps Zooarchaelogists to differentiate naturally accumulated deposits (VERTEBRATES, 1981). Recovery methods, environmental carrying capacity, paleontology, and microvertebrate finality considered when examining various accumulation. Archaeologists always differentiate between assemblages with lines of evidence-based on total accumulation. Total accumulation if the difference in depths of two samples. It involves a positive accumulation rate model and Line C models, which is an infinite accumulation rate. The methods consist of the study of accumulation rates to determine the type of accumulation, whether it is by a natural process, human mammalian carnivore, or raptors.

Part 2:

3. Faunal remains can be used to determine the season a site was occupied through an examination of age at death of the animal remains. Further, the presence of certain species can be used to assess site occupation. Through the determination of the age of the animal, archeologists can apply the current breeding information the time and season the animal was killed (Emery & Thornton, 2008). Faunal remains can be used to explain some aspects of human behavior by identifying their age.

The information extracted from the animals remains used to determine the exact time and the species that lived in that time. In these ways, archeologists can learn animal behaviors at that time. For example, a case study of social behavior in bone-cracking among the Carnivora and Hyaenidae have inference for human-carnivoran behavior. In this case, the interior bran part that contains crocuta bone shows various traits that are acquired. The traits explain the behavioral differences that exist in extant and extinct mammals. This provides a better understanding of animal behavior among this particular species.

It is essential to understand that seasonality exists due to the influence of seasonal factors. The season may be in terms of weeks, months, yearly or even quarterly. The study of seasonality in site occupation employs archaeological sites that are of the greatest importance in terms of inferences and interpretation. The study of organic remains such as shells, scales enhances the proper prediction of various seasons in which a particular species existed. From the analysis of the organic materials, it is possible to infer the ways the sites were used.  It also gives the nature of the site in terms of its complex agricultural economies and also reveals the historic gatherers and hunters in the site.

4. Archaeologist reconstructs the past environment through the study of artifacts and excavation of sites. Through paleoenvironment reconstruction, the results from faunal data can be investigated to determine the type of vegetation and climate present at one particular time and place. Faunal data can be arranged in species tolerance curves as one of the ways in which the data can predict previous environmental conditions. The knowledge of the past environment helps to understand the living situation for the prehistoric people. For example, in the case study of the environment, when archaeology unlocks data that may infer the existence of agricultural tools, then the environment at that particular point in time was characterized by farming.

Domínguez-Rodrigo (2002) noted that faunal data could be used to reconstruct previous environmental conditions by articulating the data explanations to reveal a pattern in the environment. It involves manipulation of the statistical data using a two-unit design method. Further, the data may disclose more information about the bones and bones patterns associated with a single archeological site environment.

For example, through faunal data, site-level description and interpretation can be provided. In this case, the data holds the potential for a better understanding of archaic levels if they are dispersed across a broad archaeological community. The use of tDAR has enabled faunal data analysis to map the data to ontologies and create coded datasets. The coded datasets allow exploration of many scales through comparative studies. In these ways, an archaeologist has managed to predict possible environmental patterns in a very descriptive manner. Faunal data analysts need to understand the prehistoric environments that animal species under study lived. This type of environment information can help to provide clear insight into the characteristics of the animals.

5. Faunal data can be a great representation of social status as it creates a relationship between humans and archaeological remains such as bones. The data can be interpreted to give the position of the assemblage in particular settlements and reveals the social status of individuals (DeFrance, 2009). Depending on the ages of the bones excavated and their presentation in the date, inferences can be made whether the remains were from low or high social class.

Determining the age that an animal died is essential in archaeology. It provides helps determine the era in which the animals died and the characteristics of artifacts in that period. Determining death time for animals is also vital because it helps archaeologists to the exact age of the animals through the study of their remains. Knowing animal death ages is vital for it provides people with a point of reference. Besides, death ages are useful in compiling and interpretation faunal data, which is helpful in determining animal behavior.

In archaeology, every era of species has its associated time characters and behavior. The time of death of an animal helps to know the time the animal species lived. This then helps to understand the characters and behaviors associated with those particular animals. It is therefore essential to note that studying and knowing the time of death of an animal helps to know their age and the time they live hence predicting their behavior, characteristics, and the type of environment they lived.

6. There are various methods used by zooarchaeologists to determine the age that an animal died. Examples include cortical bone texture, epiphyseal fusion, tooth and wear, dental attrition, and annuli counts. Cortical bone texture involves the study of the endosteum boundary between the cortical bone and the cancellous bone (DeFrance, 2009). Through the survey is these bones the age at which the animals died can be noted. Dental attrition involved the study of particular tooth wear resulting from tooth contact. Through analysis of tooth tissue found at incisal surfaces, the age of animals can be determined.

Age can also be determined through annuli count, which involves counting the annuli to estimate age. Annuli is a dark ring formed in the circuli.  In most cases, it is used to estimate fish age and other animals. It is noted to be one of the most accurate methods to determine the age of animals or their time of death in sites (DeFrance, 2009). Apart from annuli, other animal structures such as vertebrae and otoliths can be used to determine the age of an animal since they provide an annuli indication of age through rings formed like trees.

The primary reason for reconstructing age profiles is to determine to learn more about the animals and know their characteristics. Animal age profiles help to determine the exact time when a specific species existed. Further, it is argued that the past helps predict the future; therefore, the animal age profile helps us to know about the animals of the past from which the future expected the behavior of animals is known. The questions that can be addressed by age profile are what animals existed in the past? How long did the animals live? And what were their characteristics? Age data can be more effectively presented by highlighting the maximizing data pixel ratio and recognizing why the presentation matters (DeFrance, 2009). For example, while offering age data, it is essential to simplify the data into natural variances that can be easily interpreted.

7. The human body skeleton can be used to predict and identify human behavior accurately. This technique is based on the human body skeleton motion sequence, which can be extracted from the skeleton part data (Grayson, 2001). If the data is analyzed through complex data preprocessing, it can show the past human behavior. Action predictions are used to observe animal behavior, which is provided by skeleton data. The model relationships between simple sequences in the data are connected and interpreted to show more complex activities and patterns in animal behavior.

Grayson (2001) noted that the skeleton data algorithms could be used to predict human behavior. This method applies the use of data science machines to tell how individuals behave. This may involve RGB-D data analysis and 3D human behavior recognition. It requires temporal modification of data set in a given consistent sequence to produce the desired pattern that can predict behavior. Once the effectiveness of skeleton data is proven for analysis, then the position of individual depth in practices are analyzed.

Taphonomic bias is known as the pervasive feature of the fossil record (Grayson, 2001). The process can bias the data set in the second-order upon releasing data locked in the fossil record. It should be noted that it is different to work with a biased data set and bias that fluctuates with time. Such bias can be reduced or eliminated by building a lexicon or a language model that is generalized. Further bid data machines can be used to examine the set of data and remove the bias. Currently, data analysts use big data analytics and machine learning combined to solve bias. Besides, bias can be prevented through human accuracy, whereby the data specialist takes time and give more attention to the entire process of data gathering, data analysis, and interpretations. When those who undertake every step in data collection and analysis exhibit a lot of care, then there are few chances of developing data bias. It should be noted that data bias is not desirable when correct interpretations that give the right inferences are needed. For example, data bias can result in a wrong interpretation of the reconstructed environment that the species lived before death. Further, it can also give the wrong time of death hence the wrong age of the animal.

References

DeFrance, S. D. (2009). Zooarchaeology in complex societies: political economy, status, and ideology. Journal of archaeological research, 17(2), 105-168.

Domínguez-Rodrigo, M. (2002). Hunting and scavenging by early humans: the state of the debate. Journal of World Prehistory, 16(1), 1-54.

Emery, K. F., & Thornton, E. K. (2008). Zooarchaeological habitat analysis of ancient Maya landscape changes. Journal of Ethnobiology, 28(2), 154-179.

Grayson, D. K. (2001). The archaeological record of human impacts on animal populations. Journal of World Prehistory, 15(1), 1-68.

VERTEBRATES, A. (1981). A CRITICAL VIEW OF THE USE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL VERTEBRATES IN PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION.